Improvement in coffins



SAMUEL AVERY, OF PH(ENIX, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN COFFINS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 120,021, dated October 17, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, SAMUEL AvEEY, of Phoenix, in the county of Oswego and State of N ew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Burial-Gaskets; and I do hereby declare that the ibllowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing' form ing part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improved manner of joining the end and side pieces of' burial-caskets, and other articles made of wood, at the corners; an d it consists in a curved metal plate, comprising a quarter of a circle, more or less, according to the angle to be formed by the pieces to be joined, with a flange on the inside near each edge, which. plate is fitted upon the outsides of the boa-rds, with its danges in deeprgrooves formed across the boards for them, and a key is i driven between the ends ofthe boards, or the said boards are so tted as to force the walls ot' the grooves against the flanges in such a manner as to bindn and lock the corners very securely together. The

object of the improvement is to provide a more simple and economical mode of securing the sides and end pieces together than the present modes; also, a mode by which the'case may be readily put together after the boards have been veneered, polished, Ste., Without scratching or inj urin g them, and to provide ornamental covers of elaborate design cheaply, which may be produced in the castings of the said plates.

Figure 1 is a horizontal section of a burial-casket constructed according to my improvement. Fig. 2 is a similar view of an ordinary coffin. Fig. 3 is an interior elevation of a corner of a case, showing the manner of joining the side pieces together, and Fig. 4 is an inside view of one of the corner plates used.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A represents .the curved corner plates, made of cast metal, either tapered, as shown, or not, with a flange or rib, B, on the inside, near each edge, projecting' from the plate about a quarter of the thickness of the boards to be joined, (more or less, as preferred,) and with the sides fronting the center of the plate perpendicular to the sides of the boards, in the grooves of which they are to fit; or they may be slightly undercut, as preferred. The said plates are to be as long as the depth of the case, less the cover, which will preferably overlap the ends, if the cases have plain sides; but where the upper part is in ogee or other ornamental form the plates will be as long as the width of the plain parts of the sides, and they will be formed in respect of the curvature ascending to the angle of the corner to which they are to be applied; for instance, for a rightangled corner the plates will represent a little more than a quarter of a circle. The sides O D to be secured together are each provided with a transverse groove, E, to receive one of the lan ges 5 they are then applied to the plates, either so that y, the ends meet together and bind with sufficient "torce to lock the joint firmly, as shown at F, Fig. l, or a space being provided between the said ends, as shown at G, one or more keys, F, are driven in to lock the joint together. If preferred, the ends of the boards may be ton gued and grooved, and the wedges correspondingly tted to them; but plain wedges will do.

rlhe improvement is applicable to cabinet-work also.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The keys H and plates A, having flanges B B, combined with a side, C, and end D having grooves E E, as and for the purpose specified. I rlhe above specification of my invention signed by me this 13th day of July, 1870.

SAMUEL AVERY. Witnesses:

GEORGE W. MABEE, T. B. MOSHER. 

